Product Talk: Children’s Yogurt

In the constant quest to persuade kids to eat a healthy breakfast (or enjoy a healthy snack) parents and caregivers everywhere seek a food that has a slam-dunk appeal to children. But just like adults, kids tend to want the foods that aren’t healthy for them! What’s a parent to do? I suggest steering your grocery buggy down towards the dairy aisle.

Check out the yogurt offerings! If your children are easy-going, you can pick up garden-variety yogurt—go for the low-fat or fat-free varieties. If you need to kick up the appeal a bit, look at the yogurts that have fun toppings, from sprinkles to granola. But if your kids are the ones who turn up their noses at most things, you may have to resort to K.A.—that’s Kid Appeal.

Many products are designed with K.A. just so they can entice children to try them. When we’re talking about yogurt, the ones with K.A. have cartoon characters on the packaging or offer some type of value-added aspect: a tube to squeeze or maybe even the ability to freeze them to make them seem even more like ice cream.

So what’s the big deal with yogurt? It provides calcium, protein, moderate calories, fruit and vitamins. It’s a good snack. And because it will remind many of us of ice cream, we can exploit that aspect. Serve it with sliced fruit for a healthy banana split. Layer various flavors in dessert glasses. And when you’re ready to drive to school, it makes the perfect breakfast on the go!